Judith and David Fitchie's snazzy jumpers are all over our TV screens this
year.

Not to be outdone by John Lewis, the BBC recently unveiled its own iconic Christmas advertisement – for itself, naturally. An eclectic range of the Corporation’s stars – including Graham Norton, Gary Lineker, Matt Smith, Michael McIntyre and knights of the realm, David Jason and Bruce Forsyth – play the fool while singing Consider Yourself from Oliver!

The trailer’s overall effect is rather jolly, not least because of the wonderfully awful festive jumpers on display. A piano-playing Norton sports a large penguin. Lenny Henry, decked in a bright orange reindeer effort, tries and fails to kiss a similarly attired Tess Daly. While Smith, boasting a blue reindeer number, plays Twister with Karen Gillan, Dr Who’s assistant, and a robot.

Only Sir Bruce fails to get into the festive spirit, wearing a strange cravat and smoking jacket combination while wrestling over a giant cracker with McIntyre, whose jumper features an enormous snowman.

“We were a bit miffed about Brucie,” jokes Judith Fitchie, one half of the delightful husband and wife team who knit the Christmas jumpers at their home in Newport, South Wales.

They might have failed to clothe the octogenarian host of Strictly Come Dancing, yet Judith and David, her husband of almost 40 years, have plenty of other credits to their name. Their Christmas jumpers have appeared on Emmerdale, Hollyoaks, Casualty, Big Brother, Doctors and Teachers. Among the major soaps, only Coronation Street eludes them.

Their jumpers have also featured on advertisements for Tango, Swift Insurance, Morrisons and 3 Mobile. “We never know where they’re going to turn up next,” says David, as he tackles the loose ends on a Santa design on the couple’s sofa.

The story of Ty Hanleigh Knitwear is a poignant, bittersweet tale of the ups and downs of family life, family business – and Colin Firth. It started back in 1992, when David, then aged 40, was made redundant from his job as a sales rep for Allied Carpets. He had once knitted himself a fisherman jumper; his wife had once been on a knitting course. Using the government’s enterprise grant of £40 per week, they gamely decided to set up a knitwear company.

“Just imagine how different it could have been if I’d done the other course on offer at the time: car maintenance,” jokes Judith.

At first they made non-festive jumpers, scarves, hats and cardigans, selling them at trade fairs and markets all over the country. “We had some fun times,” says Judith. “I don’t call Scotland in January fun,” retorts David.

They always sold best, however, in London and the south-east. “In Wales, they love hand-made products, but they don’t buy them,” says Judith. “They say: 'My auntie could make that for half that price.’”

“The Welsh are tight,” adds David (a Welshman himself).

In 2000 the British knitting industry went into freefall, unable to compete with mass-produced products from overseas. Judith, by then, was fed up of working from home, now that their three children had grown up. She took a job as a receptionist in a recruitment agency. David kept the company ticking over by knitting in the mornings, sleeping in the afternoons and working in a packing warehouse at night.

On a night shift in January 2004, he was run over by a truck – driven by the warehouse’s health and safety manager. “You can look back now and see the funny side,” he says. For years, however, he was unable to work, laid out flat by a resulting back injury and denied any compensation despite insisting that the accident wasn’t his fault. He is still on strong painkillers today.

“We’re a Christian family,” says Judith. “We honour God and trust that He knows better than we do. But sometimes you do think: 'What are You playing at’?”

A salvation of sorts came in the unlikely form of Colin Firth. At Christmas 2005, a church friend asked if the couple could knit a jumper for her husband similar to the one worn by the actor in Bridget Jones’s Diary. In the film, Bridget famously wonders if she is about to meet Mr Right at her mother’s annual turkey curry buffet, only to look up and find Mark Darcy’s reindeer jumper staring her glumly in the face. He later reveals that it was a present from his mother and he felt compelled to wear it.

These days the Fitchies knit Christmas jumpers – and not much else – 52 weeks a year. January is sometimes quieter, although last year they got a large, late order from Butlins, who were having a delayed Christmas party. The phone rings at any time of day or night – perhaps it is an office worker in Hong Kong wanting 10 for a Christmas party, or a BBC producer wanting 25 for a festive trailer.

It’s been a busy few weeks since they got that call from the BBC in November. Nando’s, the restaurant chain, recently commissioned them to make a large batch for an office party. They’ve also had a number of early orders for next Christmas and try to build up their stock in anticipation.

Last year they sold lots of XL. This year the small sizes have been the most popular. “Everyone’s been on a blinking diet,” he says ruefully.

Do they actually like the jumpers, I wonder? “They’re not necessarily my taste,” says Judith, carefully. “I’m sick of the sight of them,” says her husband.

Up close, however, the jumpers, which all sell for £69.50, are rather beautiful, knitted on small machines in the couple’s converted garage. The designs are simple and fun. The Italian merino wool is warm and snug. And although the Fitchies might be growing tired of having to deal with Christmas kitsch every day, they continue to take a great deal of pleasure from their customers’ ironic good humour. “We get a lot of wives buying joke presents for their husbands,” says Judith.

They certainly have more than their fair share of amusing anecdotes. For Channel 4’s sitcom, Teachers, they were asked to knit seven over-sized jumpers to make a group of dwarves look even shorter than they were. They didn’t, unfortunately, have time to fulfil another request from the same show to knit a zebra jumper for a donkey.

Other memorable customers include several Apache helicopter pilots and a soldier serving in Iraq who sent them a picture of him wearing his in the desert. One group of office workers enjoyed wearing their Christmas jumpers so much that they wore them again for a bet the following summer – to a cricket match at Lord’s.

“That sort of thing makes it all worthwhile,” says David.

On average they sell around 250 a year, although David believes that, if they “went ballistic”, they could make 500 or 600. The demand is certainly there, with orders flooding in from Australia and New Zealand. However, they say they’re reluctant to take on staff and the inherent bureaucracy. “We prefer to be like Morgan cars and have a waiting list,” jokes David.

One suspects, however, that the main reason is that they enjoy each other’s company so much, their conversation peppered with terms of endearment and gentle teasing.

“We hope to have made enough to go on a cruise somewhere next year for our 40th wedding anniversary,” says Judith.

If Sir Bruce had half a heart, he’d buy it for them to say sorry for snubbing their reindeer in favour of a smoking jacket.

Christmas Jumper competition winners

Mrs Jane Woodage and Mrs Jo King have both won a Christmas jumper by Judith and David Fitchie, as featured in the BBC Christmas trailer.